The Interview Dress

Miss Arabella came home from the interview fearing the worst.  She was applying to a university to study a combined law degree and as well as having satisfactory grades, she had to have a one-hour interview with the Dean of Law.

She came home beating herself up with a long list of regrets and saying ‘should-a, would-a, could-a’ a lot but balancing the hysterics, I told her that to me, it sounded like she had done very well in answering his questions and asking him questions of her own.

Slightly reassured she then had a melt-down that it might take up to two weeks for her to hear whether or not she would be offered one of a hundred places.  ‘Why couldn’t he just tell me at the end of the interview?’ and ‘Why will it take two weeks?’ and, ‘It’s going to be all I can think about until the 15th’.


‘That’s life’, Arabella, ‘You can’t have everything on your terms.  If you’re half as busy as me the next 10 or so days will go by very quickly’.

But the very next day I went down to the letter box and there was a very large envelope from the university addressed to Arabella.  Arabella wasn’t home as was flat-out getting a ‘mani and pedi’ from the Vietnamese.  I phoned her to let her know a thick wad of papers had arrived in an envelope from the university and did she want me to open it.  ‘Oh, yes, open it, tell me what it is’.

So I opened the envelope and attached to a lot of papers was a covering letter saying, ‘On behalf of the Vice Chancellor…I am thrilled to offer you a place at the University commencing in Semester 1, 2015.  Your course details are as follows, Bachelor of Laws/Bachelor of Arts.’

The 'interview' dress

The ‘interview’ dress

She was so excited she cried.  After I congratulated her I did say, ‘Aren’t you glad you wore my dress?  Presentation is so important’.  And I know a few of you have wanted to see the dress she wore to the interview.  I bought it from Anthropology while in New York and wore it out to dinner on the last night of our holiday.

Our last night in New York

Our last night in New York

Of course when Arabella reluctantly agreed to wear the dress, she said, ‘But I don’t have any shoes’.  This is not a true statement; Arabella has more shoes than me but she has nothing appropriate for an interview.  I said, ‘I’ll lend you my orange wedges; they’re the perfect colour and they’re very comfortable if you have to walk a long distance’.

Too daggy

Too daggy

‘Mum’, she said as she rolled her eyes.  Because my orange wedges are not the sort of shoe Miss Arabella would like to be seen wearing.  (Not that she was likely to bump into anyone she knew).

‘Well what about these?’ I asked as I presented her with a pair of my sandals.

‘No, I remember I borrowed those when we were in New York and they’re really uncomfortable’.

Too uncomfortable

Rejected – Too uncomfortable

‘Time is marching by, Arabella; you’re about to miss the bus, don’t you think they’ll be fine to get you there and back?’

‘I’ll keep looking in my wardrobe’.

‘Nothing is going to jump out at you.  You don’t have any sensible shoes.’  And I was desperate.  Desperate to get her out the door on time (which didn’t happen) and with appropriate shoes.  I went to that special place in my wardrobe.  ‘You can wear these’, I said as I handed them to her; ‘They’re Kate Spade, I bought them at Saks and I haven’t worn them yet’.  And her face lit up.

‘Ooooooh, I love these; thanks mum’.

Ooooooh, Kate Spade!

Ooooooh, Kate Spade!

And so having outfitted my daughter for her interview, I do think I deserve a little credit for her acceptance into Arts/Law.

And now the euphoria has worn off and we’re facing five years of law school.  Stay tuned – there’s bound to be some updates.

Comments

  1. G’day and big congrats Arabella and of course she has the best mum and family support!
    I am sure we all will look forward to seeing and hearing out her 5 years worth of hard work and fun Charlie!
    Cheers! Joanne

  2. congrats to arabella. well done! i guess you had to drive her in charlie? yes very sensible to have worn that dress. looks very interview-ish! in a good way.

  3. Well done Arabella! That’s great news and I’m sure you are very excited about this. The dress and shoes clearly worked a treat 🙂

  4. Congratulations! That’s great news! She’s lucky to have you to style her, Charlie! 🙂

  5. Ooh that is good news and they were prompt indeed. Glad she looked the part.
    Please tell her from one who has attended law school and worked in the profession, there is very little glamour in it, but it is very stimulating. I hope she enjoys it.
    Carolyn

  6. Congratulations to Arabella. You really rocked that dress. My niece just passed the bar and is now a full-fledged lawyer! She’s decided to specialize in tax law. It’s all very exciting.

  7. Congratulations Arabella! She must have done brilliantly but yes, your outfit and shoes no doubt helped. Both are gorgeous!

  8. Congratulations to both of you! What exciting news….but 5 years. Oh my goodness. I can’t wait to hear the stories that go along with THAT! 😉 I remember that dress from your posts of NY, I love it and it looks fabulous on you. And your wedges are perfect, although it’s hard to beat Kate Spade.

  9. Wow congrats to Arabella, and to you of course for your impeccable – and ironed – wardrobe!

  10. Congratulations to both of you for a successful interview. Behind every good lawyer there’s a stylish mum supplying an appropriate wardrobe and the other hundred and one necessities of life. 🙂

  11. Congrats to Arabella and to you Charlie for knowing what would be right:) Good luck for the next five years Arabella – I’m sure you will keep us posted Charlie!

  12. congratulations to arabella and to you for having a stellar wardrobe

  13. Ohhh congratulations Arabella! That’s very exciting! Law…yay! 🙂

  14. I remember the night we first met, Arabella told John and I she wanted to study law and then in the space of 5 minutes there were several other options for her career. I’m glad she’s been accepted into law school. It’s a tough course but she’s clever and when you want something, you make it happen.

  15. Congratulations to Arabella! This is so very exciting.

    And congrats to you also, Charlie. Yes, moms definitely deserve a portion of the credit.

    Gorgeous dress.

  16. Sincere congratulations to Arabella for the Arts/Law entry! Methinks her grades and big smile had more to do with the acceptance than her pretty sandals but then . . . 🙂 ! Five years . . . wonder whether it will be Public Service or politics at the end of that? I have no doubt that we’ll see her TV!!!! Keep us knowing, Mother!!!!!

  17. Congratulations to you both! I’m thrilled for Arabella. Katie would have rejected ALL my clothes, so you must be very hip 🙂

  18. Wow, excellent job, Arabella! Even the Dean couldn’t wait 2 weeks to take you in. Bet you’re the happiest, Charlie! Congratulations!!!

    Julie & Alesah
    Gourmet Getaways xx

  19. Well, they are fantastic shoes… and congratulations to you too!!! I’m so looking forward to hearing about the “dramas” that happen along the way… It should be an interesting few years 🙂 Liz x

  20. What a good mum you are! What we do for our girls!

  21. Wonderful news – congratulations to Arabella – exciting times ahead.
    Have a happy week ahead Charlie.
    🙂 Mandy xo

  22. You’re the best mum Charlie, I remember when you got Archie into university too. I’m sure the outfit looked better on you though 🙂 Lucky for me both my girls have bigger feet than I, so they can’t borrow my brand new shoes! Xox

  23. Congratulations! To you! I think we deserve a lot of credit. I had to outfit my daughter in one day for her interview with sotheby’s in NYC. She only had college clothes. The interviewer complimented Emma and told her she looked French in her black dress! You’re welcome! And she ended up at Sotheby’s.

  24. YAY for Arabella!! Even if it did cause you undue stress.

  25. Heartfelt congratulations to Arabela! I had to laugh about the shoes…although at my age I do try to buy some sensible shoes, I admit that I am drawn to some highly inappropriate ones as well.

  26. This is AWESOME congrats to Arabella! And definitely, clothing and presentation is one of the most important parts so you get I’d say 50% of the credit 😀

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

  27. CONGRATS)))))))
    LOVE the dress.
    Classy & Chic!! xx

  28. Congratulations!! My daugther Pilar is studing Law too! You have a wonderful taste 🙂

  29. Surely you deserve an honorary law degree for your role in making this all happen!

  30. Wow, congratulations!!! Yes you do need to take some of the credit – the dress is gorgeous and the fact you lent previously ‘únworn’ sandals – now that is true Mummy love…M xxx

  31. So exciting! Congratulations to your daughter! That fabulous outfit was perfect..so gracious of you to loan her your new shoes!! You did get them back, right 😉

  32. My son has been a lawyer for about ten years now, and I still remember the delight and excitement of his acceptance into law school. Lot so hard work, but it paid off! Good for Miss Arabella. We will definitely be cheering her on! And I expect she’ll remain stylish no matter the stress of the workload. 🙂 She must keep up her morale, after all!

  33. Arabella, thats awesome!!! Such amazing news, I bet you are pumped! 🙂

  34. Sweet Posy Dreams says:

    Congratulations to Arabella!

  35. Congratulations to Miss Arabella! That’s such wonderful news, Charlie. There’s hard work ahead, to be sure, but there’s plenty of time to think about all that. For now, though, enjoy the moment. It really is a grand achievement.

  36. What good news for Arabella, and definitely lots of credit to you!

  37. What a bright daughter you have! Congratulations to the lovely Arabella. I don’t have a daughter but I can just imagine the conversation over the shoes.

  38. A beautiful dress & you look great in it & those shoes,..ohlalaaa!
    Congrats for Arabellla to get into that law school,…that is exciting great news! Xxx

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